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Valeri Nichushkin

Avalanche Notes: Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Mittelstadt, Ritchie

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Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog isn’t retiring after missing a second straight season with knee injuries, he confirmed to reporters Thursday (via Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports).

It remains to be seen whether Landeskog will be ready for training camp in the fall but he’s planning on returning sometime during the 2024-25 regular season, he said. He’s had no setbacks in his recovery for the last two months while slowly ramping up his on-ice workload (via Deen).

While it’s fortunate news for general manager Chris MacFarland that his captain will likely be back on the ice next season, the lack of a real update today muddies his offseason planning. He can operate under the assumption that Landeskog’s $7MM cap hit can be placed on offseason long-term injured reserve for additional flexibility, but with an in-season return expected, he’ll need to leave enough space under the $87.7MM upper limit to activate Landeskog at some point down the line.

Including the cap hits of Landeskog but not Valeri Nichushkin (more on him in a few paragraphs), the Avalanche have $15.9MM in projected cap space next season, per CapFriendly. That’ll evaporate quickly, though, as they only have 13 roster players signed. They’ll need to fill seven to nine spots with that money, plus leaving $6.125MM to activate Nichushkin once his six-month suspension is lifted. That’s an average of around $1.25MM per unsigned player.

Their core remains intact, though, with their top skater unit of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Cale Makar all signed through next season.

More out of Colorado:

  • Speaking to reporters today, MacFarland called it “plausible” that Nichushkin would suit up for the Avalanche once he exits Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in November at the earliest (via Deen). Nichushkin does not count against the cap during his suspension, but MacFarland cannot trade, buy out, or terminate the six remaining seasons of his $6.125MM AAV contract. The Russian winger had 53 points in 54 games this season, limited by an earlier stint in the Player Assistance Program.
  • Unfortunately, Landeskog isn’t the only important winger whose status for the beginning of training camp is in doubt. Lehkonen needs offseason shoulder surgery, MacFarland said, and may miss the beginning of preseason activities. His absence isn’t expected to stretch into the regular season, though. The Finnish winger missed nearly half of 2023-24 with a neck injury, but managed 16 goals and 34 points in 45 games when healthy. Trade deadline acquisition Casey Mittelstadt was also dealing with an injury during the postseason, but it won’t require surgery and “isn’t a long-term issue.”
  • The Avs hope to get 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie signed to his entry-level contract this summer, MacFarland said. Ritchie, 19, finished sixth in the Ontario Hockey League in points per game with 80 in 50 appearances for the Oshawa Generals. Likely to slot into a middle-six center role long-term, Ritchie is Colorado’s best forward prospect by a wide margin. He would need to return to Oshawa next season if he doesn’t crack the NHL roster, however. His 20th birthday doesn’t fall until after New Year’s Day.

Valeri Nichushkin Placed In Stage 3 Of Player Assistance Program

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The National Hockey League along with the National Hockey League Players’ Association have announced that Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin has been put into Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program. The program is a joint effort between the NHL and NHLPA, and with Nichushkin in Stage 3, he will be suspended without pay for at least six months and will then need to apply to be reinstated once he is eligible.

The Avalanche are just hours away from taking to the ice for Game 4 of their second-round series against the Dallas Stars and trail 2-1. Nichushkin has been a big part of this year’s playoff push for Colorado, tallying nine goals and one assist in eight postseason games. The 29-year-old also had a strong regular season this year, dressing in 54 regular-season games and registering 28 goals and 25 assists.

Nichushkin spent time in the player assistance program earlier this year and also missed the final five playoff games last season against the Seattle Kraken for what the team called personal reasons. He has remained a solid on-ice contributor for the Avalanche posting 93 goals and 107 assists in 289 games, as well as 26 points in his last 30 playoff games. While he’s been very good for the Avalanche on the ice, his off-ice issues have limited his availability, particularly during the past two post-seasons when he’s left the team early.

Nichushkin was a feel-good story two seasons ago when he became a major contributor as the Avalanche marched to a Stanley Cup championship. He had nine goals and six assists in 20 playoff games during that run and it was a shocking turnaround after he was just three years removed from a season in which he had no goals and 10 assists in 57 games with Dallas.

Per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, “Entering Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program means that there was a violation of the Stage 2 treatment plan and it requires a suspension without pay for at least six months and then the player is eligible to apply for reinstatement.”

Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner

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The Avalanche have sent veteran forward Chris Wagner to AHL Colorado, the team announced. The move comes in anticipation of Valeri Nichushkin and Yakov Trenin both returning from multi-game absences due to injuries tonight against the Oilers.

Wagner signed a two-way deal with the Avs over the offseason after completing a three-year, seven-figure deal with the Bruins, most of which was spent in the minors. After registering five points in 41 games in 2020-21, the first season of his contract, he played just one NHL game in each of the following two campaigns and instead settled into a middle-six role with AHL Providence. He sustained an Achilles injury in training camp with Colorado, delaying his debut with the organization until January, and he’s since registered a goal and an assist in 11 major league games while averaging a minimal 7:39 per game.

He’s also done decently well in the minors, posting eight points and a +3 rating in 17 games with the Eagles. His all-around versatility and plug-and-play ability convinced the Avs to ink him to a one-year, two-way extension Wednesday, which is now confirmed to carry a $775K cap hit and $400K minors salary. He’s been recalled twice since returning to play with the Eagles in January, both coming under emergency conditions. His initial emergency loan was converted to a standard recall and carried him through the March 8 trade deadline, making him ineligible to play in the AHL postseason. As such, expect Wagner to return to the Avalanche as an extra when the Stanley Cup Playoffs kick off later this month.

Injury Notes: Nichushkin, Rielly, Edmundson

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Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin will join the team on their road trip and could return Friday against the Oilers, head coach Jared Bednar said today on Altitude Sports Radio (via Altitude’s Conor McGahey). The 29-year-old has carried a day-to-day designation since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Canadiens on March 26. Bednar said Nichushkin will meet the team in Minnesota ahead of tomorrow’s matchup against the Wild, which will mark his fourth straight absence.

It’s been a successful season in limited action for Nichushkin, who returned to the club in early March after spending nearly two months in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Back in his usual top-six role, Nichushkin had four goals and four assists for eight points in eight games since re-entering the lineup after the trade deadline, again averaging over 20 minutes per game. The two-way force has 26 goals and 50 points in 48 games on the season and is on pace to finish above the point-per-game mark for the first time in his nine-year career. His return will allow grinder Brandon Duhaime, who’s jumped up to a second-line role alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt at times since being acquired from Minnesota nearly a month ago, to slot into a more comfortable fourth-line role for his offensive abilities.

Some other modifications to players’ injury statuses this morning:

  • Line rushes indicate top Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly will return tonight against the Lightning after missing four games with an upper-body injury, David Alter of The Hockey News relays. The 30-year-old will return to a top-pairing role flanked by Ilya Lyubushkin, who have controlled 56% of expected goals in 92 minutes together since the latter was re-acquired from the Ducks on March 1, per MoneyPuck. Rielly is averaging 23:49 per game this season, the second-highest mark of his career, and has 51 points in 65 contests. He’s missed nine games on the whole this season, including a five-game suspension in February for cross-checking Senators forward Ridly Greig. 40-year-old Mark Giordano, who had one goal in three games since returning from a concussion, exits the lineup to accommodate Rielly.
  • Sticking with the Leafs, defenseman Joel Edmundson participated in an optional skate today but has been ruled out of Toronto’s next two games with his undisclosed injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today (via Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun). The trade-deadline pickup from the Capitals hasn’t played in a week and a half, last suiting up on March 24 against the Hurricanes. Edmundson, 30, had yet to get on the scoresheet in seven games with the Leafs but had seen a sharp improvement in his possession quality control, recording a 50.5 xG% in more strenuous defensive minutes compared to a 47.5% mark with the Caps. The 6’5″ bruiser is now five years removed from his Stanley Cup win with the Blues and is looking to get back there by excelling in a shutdown role in Toronto. He remains with a day-to-day designation and could return when the Leafs take on former GM Kyle Dubas and the Penguins next Monday.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Jean-Luc Foudy

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The possibility of the Colorado Avalanche being without forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Joel Kiviranta tonight has come to pass, as Megan Angley of DNVR Avalanche reports that Nichushkin is out with a lower-body injury and Kiviranta is out with an illness. Carrying an open roster spot left to fill, the team recalled Jean-Luc Foudy on an emergency loan.

It will mark Foudy’s second emergency loan recall of the season, with the first coming on March 6th after Colorado’s flurry of trade deadline activity. Over that recall, Foudy played in one game for the Avalanche against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring one goal in almost 11 minutes of ice time.

Unfortunately, Foudy has not been able to accrue much playing time at the AHL level this season, as a lower-body injury suffered in training camp kept him off the ice until mid-January. Due to the injury, Foudy has registered only 18 games with Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, scoring three goals and nine points overall.

Nevertheless, with the Avalanche having the ability to clinch a playoff spot this evening, it will be a valuable matchup for Foudy to be a part of. As Foudy will undoubtedly return north to Loveland by the end of the regular season, he will be a factor in the Eagles’ pursuit of a playoff position, as well.

Avalanche Notes: Nichushkin, Girard, Kiviranta

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The Avalanche have listed winger Valeri Nichushkin as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Rangers, head coach Jared Bednar said (via Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports). It’s a lower-body injury that’s not anything long-term but “could possibly keep him out,” said Bednar. Nichushkin has missed extensive time this season, but not due to injury. He missed a splattering of games with illness before missing 21 games while in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program from mid-January to earlier this month. It hasn’t impacted his performance when healthy, as he’s passed the point-per-game threshold for the first time in his career. He’s posted a career-high 26 goals, 24 assists and 50 points in 48 games while averaging 21:36 per game, another career-high for the two-way dynamo.

Other updates from Denver:

  • Nichushkin may not be the only minutes-munching skater out of the lineup tomorrow. The Avs could also be without blue-liner Samuel Girard, who missed today’s practice with an illness and is accordingly questionable against the Blueshirts, per Brennan Vogt of The Rink Colorado. The 25-year-old has only 18 points in 51 games, his worst offensive showing in quite some time. He’s made up for it with some improved defensive and possession play after an iffy few seasons, rebounding for a 55.1 CF% at even strength and +6.2 expected rating, his best numbers in three years despite seeing the most defensive-zone usage of his career. Joel Kiviranta and Caleb Jones would draw into the lineup if both Nichushkin and Girard are unavailable…
  • …except Kiviranta is dealing with an illness of his own, per Vogt, which may prompt the Avs to recall a forward from AHL Colorado before tomorrow’s contest. They’d be eligible to do so under emergency conditions, as Kiviranta is the only extra forward available on the roster and they’d only be able to dress 11 if he and Nichushkin are sidelined. After beginning the season on a minor-league deal after attending Avs camp on a PTO, the depth winger has three goals and nine points in 52 games while averaging 9:56 per game.

Avalanche Notes: Foudy, Pavel, Nichushkin, O’Connor

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A few hours ago, the Colorado Avalanche made a pair of trades, sending Ryan Johansen to the Philadelphia Flyers as a part of a trade to land Sean Walker in the Mile High City, as well as sending Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for Casey Mittelstadt. In doing so, with both Walker and Mittelstadt unavailable to the team tonight, two roster spots opened up in the active lineup before the team’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.

To solve the issue, the Avalanche have recalled forwards Jean-Luc Foudy and Ondrej Pavel from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Both players should feature in the team’s bottom six, with Foudy taking over as the center of the third line, and Pavel joining Chris Wagner and Andrew Cogliano on the team’s fourth line.

Both players have primarily played on the Eagles this season, with Pavel registering one game with the Avalanche back in November. At the AHL level, Pavel has suited up in 48 games for the Eagles, scoring three goals and seven points in total. Foudy, however, has had his season severely limited by injury, only registering 12 games in the AHL, scoring two goals and six points up to this point.

Other notes:

  • Making his way back from the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, the Avalanche are hoping that forward Valeri Nichushkin will be able to make his way back to the lineup on Friday against the Minnesota Wild (X Link). Although not playing since early January, Nichushkin is still sitting fourth on the team in scoring, putting up 22 goals and 42 points in his first 40 games this year.
  • Another player who will not be in the lineup for Colorado tonight will be forward Logan O’Connor, who is out with a lower-body injury according to Ryan Boulding of the NHL. Previously missing time in mid-February with a similar injury, O’Connor has still put together a quality season for the Avalanche. Suiting up in 57 games for Colorado this season, O’Connor has scored 13 goals and 25 points overall, with three of those goals coming on the penalty kill.

West Notes: Henrique, Nichushkin, Dewar

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Teams’ interest in the services of Ducks center Adam Henrique continues to intensify ahead of next week’s trade deadline, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports. “It’s a matter of when, not if, he’s traded,” Pagnotta said, also reporting it’s “all but certain” the Ducks will retain up to half of Henrique’s $5.825MM cap hit in a deal.

That would bring Henrique’s cap hit down to $2.91MM without needing to get a third team involved, which would still be out of reach for contenders pondering adds on offense like the Oilers, Avalanche and Kings. Los Angeles would be able to stomach Henrique’s cap hit if Adrian Kempe lands on LTIR for the rest of the regular season, however. He’s out with an upper-body injury sustained Monday against the Oilers, and the team hasn’t finished evaluating his recovery timeline.

All signs are pointing for the Ducks potentially adding a first-round pick in the next nine days after centers Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan fetched first-rounders a few weeks back. Henrique, who can also seamlessly shift to a left-wing role, has 16 goals and 38 points in 57 games this season. His 0.67 points per game are the third-most of his career, trailing the pace he set with Anaheim in 2021-22 (0.72) and the Devils in 2011-12 (0.69).

Other updates from the Western Conference:

  • Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is nearing a return after being cleared to resume practicing with the team by NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program administrators earlier this week. While he hasn’t been approved to play in game action, that will come soon. Head coach Jared Bednar said on 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio on Wednesday morning that the Avs are targeting one of their first home game after their current road trip for Nichushkin’s return (via Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now). That rules him out of a return tomorrow against the Blackhawks or Saturday against the Predators, but he will return sometime during the week preceding the March 8 trade deadline. Nichushkin had 42 points in 40 games before taking leave from the team last month, a career-best scoring pace.
  • Wild depth forward Connor Dewar may join fellow Minnesota bottom-sixer Brandon Duhaime on the move in the coming days, as Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic posit. Duhaime, a pending UFA, is drawing trade interest from a few teams (namely the Canucks, per a report earlier this week) and is a decent candidate to be moved regardless of the Wild’s postseason intentions. Dewar may also fall victim to a roster crunch caused by the return of Mason Shaw from reconstructive ACL surgery and the arrival of Russian center prospect Marat Khusnutdinov, a younger, higher-ceiling replacement for Dewar in the fourth-line center role. The team controls Dewar’s signing rights as he’s an RFA this summer. He has 16 goals, 36 points and a -16 rating in 169 games with Minnesota since making his NHL debut in 2021.

Valeri Nichushkin Cleared To Resume Practicing

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The NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program has cleared Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin to resume practicing with the team, the league said Monday.

Nichushkin is not yet cleared to return to game action by program administrators, but that step traditionally doesn’t come too long after a return to team activities. The Russian two-way force has been away from the Avs since entering the assistance program on Jan. 15.

Colorado cleared a roster spot for Nichushkin’s eventual return to play this morning by assigning Fredrik Olofsson to the AHL after he cleared waivers yesterday. Since Nichushkin’s $6.125MM cap hit has counted against their books while in the program, they won’t need to make any cap-clearing transactions to reinstate him to the active roster in the coming days or weeks.

The Avalanche remain active in discussions ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, including being recently linked to the Capitals’ Anthony Mantha, but a lack of cap space makes any additions hard to work in. Internally, the return of Nichushkin after a weeks-long absence, plus the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog down the stretch, will serve as their major deadline adds.

Nichushkin, 28, has been on a consistent upward climb since joining the Avs in 2019, and he’s capped things off with his best season yet in 2023-24. He’s one of four Avs players with over a point per game this year, notching 22 goals and 42 points in 40 games, along with a +9 rating. After helping Colorado to the Stanley Cup in 2022, Nichushkin inked an eight-year, $49MM extension that’s provided high-end value to the Avs thus far.

His pending return will allow recent veteran pickup Zach Parise, who has a goal and two assists through 10 games with Colorado, to drop down to a much more comfortable bottom-six role. He and Artturi Lehkonen will anchor their second line, hopefully providing enough support to aid the struggling Ryan Johansen in the 2C role.

Valeri Nichushkin Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and will be out indefinitely, the league announced today (via NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding). Independent Avalanche reporter Adrian Dater reported the news earlier Monday.

Nichushkin will be stepping away from what’s been a very productive season. The 28-year-old currently ranks fourth on the Avalanche in scoring, with 22 goals and 42 points in 40 games. His point-per-game scoring has been shadowed by his linemates, though, with Nathan MacKinnon boasting 69 points, Mikko Rantanen with 55 points, and Cale Makar currently sitting on 48 points. These four, including Nichushkin, lead the Avalanche in average ice time alongside Makar’s defense partner Devon Toews.

Nichushkin is in his fifth season with the Avalanche, managing 189 points in 275 games with the club. That’s a 0.69 points-per-game pace, a large step above the 0.33 points-per-game that Nichushkin averaged in four seasons with the Dallas Stars. Dallas selected Nichushkin 10th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, only a few picks after now-teammates MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin went in the top-three. Nichushkin made his NHL debut in the following season, scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 79 games as a rookie and ranking 12th in Calder Trophy voting.

But the next few years were inconsistent, as Nichushkin bounced between the Stars’ NHL and AHL lineups. He even left North American hockey altogether for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, opting instead to play with the KHL’s CSKA Moscow. The winger returned to Dallas for the 2018-19 season but failed to produce, netting only 10 assists and a -4 through 57 games. The Stars opted to buy-out his contract following this slow season, effectively shipping him off to the Avalanche, who signed Nichushkin to a one-year, $850K contract two months later.

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